ICC Americas

This association is the only one of all continental countries that has only one full member – the West Indies. The ICC Americas, which reports to the International Cricket Council, is tasked with hosting competitions in the Americas and the Caribbean. The main organization on this continent now has 17 national federations.

ICC Americas: everything for the West Indies

The history of the most stellar team, the ICC Americas, began in the 80s of the 19th century. The West Indies are known to the world as the Windies. It became a member of the International Cricket Council (at that time – the International Cricket Council) in 1926. The West Indies held their first test match internationally in 1928. This team has always included world-class players. At the same time, the West Indies did not manage to bring together several high-level players at once, so until the 60s of the 20th century, the team’s successes were not impressive.

What is the West Indies in cricket? It is better to split the answer to this question into two parts, taking into account historical changes:

• At the beginning of the 20th century, representatives of the British colonies of the West Indies Federation and British Guyana played in the West Indies national team.
• Now you can see players from independent island countries in the national team: Dominica, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago. Also, there are cricketers from dependent zones in the West Indies team: Anguilla, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands (all from the UK), the Virgin Islands (from the US) and Saint Martin (from France).

The main successes of the West Indies in cricket came in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century. In 1975, the team became the first-ever World Cup winner, running 17 runs more in the final than Australia. In 1979, the team defended the title by beating England in the decisive match. This time the advantage of the leader of the American continent was indisputable – a difference of 92 early. In 1983, the West Indies were again in the World Cup final but lost to India. The opponent ran 43 more runs. By the way, in the subsequent West Indies did not reach the decisive stages at the world level. Although in 2007 it hosted the world championship. Then the team took sixth place.

Interest in cricket has now declined in the West Indies. Children mostly tend to go to athletics and football. This is not surprising since runner Usain Bolt, representing Jamaica, became the star of athletics in the 21st century. He still holds the record for sprint distances of 100 and 200 m.

ICC Americas: members

In addition to the West Indies, the ICC Americas has 16 other national federations. All have an associated status. Of these, the United States stands out, which can take part in ODI and T20I formats tournaments. The rest of the teams can only play in T20I competitions. These are Argentina, Canada, Brazil, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Falkland Islands, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Turks and Caicos Islands.

Cuba is a former member of ICC Americas. She left the association in 2012 after dropping out of the fourth division of the ICC Americas Championship in 2010.

The leaders of ICC Americas had the idea to create a Cricket Council of the Americas, just like in other continents. To this end, 15 member countries of the association gathered on the island of Antigua in 2001. The main goal of the meeting program was “to deliver more effectively and efficiently the ICC development program”. Also, representatives of the federations Guadeloupe and Mexico were at the meeting, although their associations were not part of the ICC Americas structure. As a result, the Cricket Council of the Americas lasted only a few years. Then it was decided to dissolve the council.

The President of ICC Americas is Tim Anderson. Now the headquarters of the association is located in Colorado Springs (Colorado, USA). It was previously in Toronto (Canada).

ICC Americas: tournaments

The main event hosted by ICC Americas is the ICC Americas Championship. The tournament is organized for teams that are not eligible to play in international test matches. It means for all members of the main organization on the American continent, except for the West Indies. The most successful national team in the championship, which has been running since 2000, is Canada. The main feature of the ICC Americas Championship is the holding of a specific match within one day. Successfully performing at the continental championship, the teams have the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.

The main cricket association in the Americas is responsible for hosting the ICC Americas Under-19, where cricketers also have the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup in their age category. The South American Cricket Championship is known in cricket, but this tournament is not held under the auspices of ICC Americas. Several times under the leadership of ICC Americas, South and North America development teams have been created. They were not originally planned to include representatives of the West Indies national teams. In 2015, the Americas Development Region men’s team played in a regional tournament, with cricketers from the United States and Canada represented on the team. In 2007, the junior women’s team competed under the name Select XI. It included representatives from Argentina, Bermuda and Canada. In 2007, the team played a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago. In 2009, the teams met again. True, the representatives of the USA and Brazil performed in Americas Select XI that time.

The United American under-19 team among men tried their hand more than once. The last attempt was at the Regional Main Event in 2014. After that, the ICC Americas decided to abandon such an undertaking.